[Wikipedia-l] Re: Klingon Wikipedia locked

[Philip Newton]

On Wed, 10 Aug 2005 12:59:31 -0400, Stephen Forrest wrote:

> For me, the obvious difference between the Klingon Wikipedia and other
> small wikipedias is that is both 1) very small and 2) a constructed
> language.

I think an important additional point is 3) it has an essentially closed
vocabulary (including derived forms).

This is something that e.g. Interlingue and Lojban, which Mark cited, do
not have (Lojban has a closed set of "root words" but an open set of
derived forms and borrowed words).

The closed vocabulary of Klingon (and, say, Sindarin) means that there
will inevitably be annoying gaps in vocabulary which require much
circumlocution to discuss many subjects, because new words "cannot" be
coined or borrowed, and combining existing words will be limited.

--Ph.